2018-02-12
For those of us who love desserts and sweets, cakes are an integral part of our lives. They symbolize the spirit of celebration during weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, farewells, and feasts. And, with the advent of the art of cake decorating, cakes are no longer mere desserts but also a presentation of design. It is a form of art that uses different kinds of frosting, fondant, gum paste, food color, and modeled chocolate to create something unique.
It’s almost like cake designers have a magic wand which allows them to create anything and everything under the sun. Be it a designer bag cake, a Bodleian Library sculpture cake, or a 3-D portrait cake, culinary artists can handcraft almost anything. And, the time, effort, and costs involved in crafting these designs are enormous. To add to that, some cake decorators tend to take inspiration from other bakers to come up with new designs. Maybe that’s why these days, cake designers are trying to protect their unique designs legally. Professionals are seeking the help of patent lawyers in Edmonton to prevent any infringement from other designers.
Last year, the cake used during the inauguration of the U.S. President Donald Trump received some flak. Cake designer and the owner of The Buttercream Bakeshop, Terry MacIsaac, was allegedly accused of copying the cake design from Duff Goldman who baked a similar cake for President Obama’s inauguration. Although Maclsaac defended his work by claiming that the representatives of the White House asked him to create a replica of Goldman’s cake, the incident sparked a debate as to whether cake bakers need to protect their designs or not.
To understand this let’s take a look at the legal aspects of the issue:
Intellectual Property Law in Canada
The IP law in Canada comprises of copyrights, trademarks, patents, and industrial designs.
Copyright Act of Canada: Copyright, as the term suggests, means the right to copy. It refers to the sole right of the creator to produce or reproduce a piece of work or a substantial part of it in any form. According to the Copyright Law in Canada, you can protect literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works (including computer programs), sound recordings, communication signals, and everything that constitutes as a performer’s performances. Artistic work, as mentioned in the law, refers to paintings, drawings, maps, photographs, sculptures, and plans. When we look at cake designs, it can be termed as an artistic work that can be classified as a painting, sculpture, and drawing.
Industrial Design: If you consult with a patent lawyer or agent in Edmonton, they would probably tell you that cake designs could be termed as an industrial design. Here’s why -
Industrial designs refer to the visual aspect of your work. They cover the shape, the pattern, the design or any other visual feature of your product. Example of things that could be protected by an industrial design include: the shape of a unique doorknob or the pattern of a knitted sweater. You may be able to have the design of your product registered as an industrial design. This would give you exclusive rights to the design of the product in Canada.
However, it is important to remember that industrial designs only refer to the visual aspect of your creation and not the composition of it. So, if you get your cake design registered, only the artistic elements of your cake are protected and not the recipe. If you wish to protect your cake recipe as well, then you need to get that patented with the help of a patent lawyer in Edmonton, although whether or not your recipe is patentable is an entirely different question.
So, can cake designs be protected?
Yes, you can protect your cake design by calling it a work of art under The Copyright Act or by obtaining an industrial design registration. In both cases, your design would have to be original and should not resemble any other cake design.
If you wish to learn more about this topic, then get in touch with a reputed patent lawyer or agent in Edmonton.
